Cloth lined elastomer girdle



Nov. 23, 1965 A. N. SPANEL CLOTH LINED ELASTOMER GIRDLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 18, 1961 INVENTOR Abra ham N. Sponel wuem /a FIG.7.

FIG.4.

ATTORNEY Nov. 23, 1965 A. N. SPANEL 3,219,038

CLOTH LINED ELASTOMER GIRDLE Filed Jan. 18, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Abraham N. Spanel ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,219,038 CLOTH LINED ELASTOMER GIRDLE Abraham N. Spanel, Princeton, N..I., assignor to International Latex Corporation, Dover, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 83,541 Claims. (Cl. 128-521) This invention is a highly stretchable girdle structure having an elastomer body of latex or the like and a cloth lining Whose exposed surface has the absorbency of cotton. While the preceding statement describes an importantly desirable product, meeting the need for a pliant and supple garment which at the same time has a soft and cool feel against the skin, no girdle meeting that description has ever been made prior to my present invention, nor can be made insofar as I am aware in any other way than in accordance'with my present invention.

An elastomer such as rubber, especially deposited latex made by dipping a form into a tank of liquid latex, can give a girdle body having a film thickness sufficient to exert the considerable compressive stress necessary to control the contours of the torso and which is at the same time so highly stretchable that the portion which is to be snug around the waist can, for putting the garment on, be stretched out larger than the largest measurement of the hips. Experience has shown that the garment should have a girthwise stretch capability of the order of 2 to l, and vertical stretch capability of the order of 1.5 to 1.

With the latex girdle body a cotton cloth lining would be most desirable because being cloth it reinforces against tearing, and being cotton it has a soft and friendly feel, tremendous acceptance and long satisfactory experience for wear against the skin, and particularly high absorbency. Cotton cloth is highly absorbent and provides a continuous network of linear wicks, so it is ideal to transport perspiration moisture and dissipate it by evaporation, as for example, through perforations in the latex body of the girdle. The characteristics of the liners surface are of utmost importance in this industry, inasmuch as the other superior merits of latex girdles have not heretofore been equally matched by their absorbency and feel ing of coolness. And yet heretofore no latex girdle with cotton cloth lining has existed nor has anyone known how to make one.

The reason for this is that practical configurations of cotton cloth do not have the requisite stretch. This is especially true when the cotton is anchored into the surface of the latex body to make an integrated garment with great resistance to delamination of the liner from the body of the garment, which is important. Attempts to use a loosely looped Terry cloth type of configuration of the cotton lead to either too little capacity for stretch,

when well embedded, or delamination when too lightly embedded, and with cotton fabrics no Way has been found to get at once adequate stretch and adequate bond.

Knowing that no homogeneous textile fabric has both the requisite stretch and the requisite absorbency, and knowing also that textile fabrics do not always have to be symmetrical from face to face, the present inventor conceived that a fabric might be used as a lining which would on the face to be anchored in the latex have stretch so great that even after partial anchoring it would stretch to the high degree required in this product, while on its opposite face, which is in wear to be contiguousto the skin, it would have the high absorbency which is desired.

Among textile fabrics one which can serve to accomplish the invention when partially anchored in the inner surface of a latex girdle is a composite knit fabric consisting essentially of two layers knit together, a layer at one face to be bonded to the latex being of Helanca "ice made of nylon or generally equivalent coilable or crimpable but relatively nonabsorbent synthetic filaments which are heat-set or chemically-set into a shortened form, the layer at the other face to be Worn against the skin being of non coilable or crimpable but highly absorbent natural filaments such as particularly cotton. The highly stretchable face of the composite fabric is anchored to the latex body, preferably by application to it while the surface portion of same is soft and tacky, the anchoring being deep enough to give a strong bond and avoid delamination yet not so deep as to lock the thread configurations of the highly absorbent face portion of the composite fabric.

The invention can be practiced with other fabric confiurations as long as the essentials indicated at the outset are present. F or an illustrative example, a cottonwrapped fabric of face-to-face loops of stretchable synthetic threads can be anchored to the elastomer base to give the characteristics of this invention.

Representative embodiments of the invention are illustrated somewhat diagrammatically in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a two-fabric knit textile suitable for use in practicing my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the fabric of FIG 1, which has cotton threads at its upper face and nylon Helanca at its lower face;

FIG. 3 is a much enlarged schematic representation of one of the Helanca threads, showing the bundle of coiled filaments from which it is made;

FIG. 4 is a section of a portion of a finished girdle of the present invention;

The form of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is representative of other embodiments of this invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a crimped synthetic fiber thread under tension and wrapped with a cotton thread;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the same composite thread when relaxed;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section of a girdle made with a knit lining formed of this type of thread; and

FIGURE 8 is a front elevation illustrating a finished girdle in a relaxed state in accordance with this invention.

The concept of the present invention will be fairly clear from the foregoing. The two characteristics of high stretch and high absorbency, which have heretofore proved incompatible in a cloth-lined latex girdle, are achieved by using a composite fabric which has an upper 'or exposed layer of low-stretch high-absorbency material Which is held in place, in looped or other distensible configuration, by a lower or hidden layer of high-stretch, relatively low absorbency material which is anchored in the latex.

In the embodiment illustrated by FIGURES 1 thru 4, I employ a knit fabric made of two concurrent threads. The upper one, indicated in FIG. 1 by the solid line 10, is a continuous thread of highly absorbent natural cotton. The lower thread, represented by the dashed line 11, is a yarn-like stretchable thread made up of a bundle of synthetic filaments 20 (FIGURE 3) which have been heatset or chemically-set, that is, they have been repetitively bent out of a straight line into a shortening configuration such as a coil or series of crimps, and have been set in that shortened configuration so as to have a tendency to return to it after being stretched. The term Helanca will be used in a broad sense for such thread. The cotton threads are so introduced into the knitting machine as to be at the top surface, and the Helanca threads at the bottom surface. However, it is not possible to control this arrangement perfectly, and it is a feature of my invention that it will work even though the relative disposition of the two types of threads be imperfect.

The two-material knit fabric is then pressed onto the girdle body of sheet latex in such a way as to bond or anchor it properly thereto. The latex body, which is dry and solid, is given another dip (or spray or otherwise) coat of adhesive material, which can be liquid latex of the same composition as the body of the girdle, or can be some other suitable adhesive. While this adhesive is still in a somewhat wet or semi-wet condition, the composite textile liner is applied to the adhesive-coated side of the latex body, the Helanca side of the liner being next to the latex body. The invention may be more easily visualized if some idea of relative dimensions is given. To indicate approximate relative magnitudes of one practical embodiment, but not to limit the invention or the patent, a set of illustrative dimensions in thousandths of an inch could be:

Thickness of composite cloth 40 Diameter of Helanca thread 8 Diameter of cotton thread 4 Filaments for Helanca thread 0.2

In the composite knit cloth the cottonthreads will often lie somewhat to the side of the Helanca threads rather than squarely on top of them. Therefore if the adhesive film were too deep the adhesive could strike the cotton threads and lock them in place, destroying their stretch. As will be recalled, the cotton thread per se has no appreciable stretch; the stretch of the cotton comes from its slack or distensible convolutions. This can be visualized in relation to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings, which show the fabric under some stretch; when the stretch force is released, the stretchable thread will shorten internally, while the nonstretchable thread will loop up into slack convolutions.

If the lower thread were of a unitary nature with a solid cross section, any bonding whose depth is insufiicient could be inadequate and allow these threads to tear out too readily. The present invention preferably uses a lower thread which has a large overall diameter to hold the cotton threads up out of the film of adhesive, but which is made up of a bundle of filaments each having a smaller diameter than the bundle diameter. As a result, a number of these filaments at the bottom of each knit loop are completely immersed in the adhesive and thereby securely anchored.

Looking at FIGURE 4, it will be realized that the latex body 12 has adequate stretch and the proper modulus for good figure control, in accordance with my original Patent 2,360,736 for latex girdles; the nylon Helanca threads 11 have enough of their filaments immersed in the adhesive film 13 to give secure bonding; the Helanca threads can stretch with the latex because they are highly stretchable throughout all portions of their lengths; and the highly absorbent natural cotton thread which forms the liner surface which will lie against the skin of the wearer has fully adequate stretch because its convolutional capacity to stretch, provided by the knit configuration of the fabric, has not been impaired by the adhesive locking these loops against stretch.

The principle of the invention is illustrated in another way in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7. Here a heat-set or chemically-set plastic type of synthetic filament 14 is combined with other such filaments 14 into a yarn-like bundle constituting a stretch-thread 15. While this thread is stretched under tension a thread 16 of natural cotton is loosely wound about it in a helix, as shown in FIGURE 5. When the stretch thread is relaxed from tension it drops into a fraction of the previous length, bringing the cotton threads into a closed-up condition, as shown in FIGURE 6. A fabric knit or otherwise formed of covered thread of this sort can be bonded to the latex body of a girdle in any manner which gives the bonding at spaced points with the interval size generally exceeding the bond area size. The composite thread is able to stretch between such points, and thus both the stretch and the absorbent surface characteristics are simultaneously achieved as desired.

In FIGURE 8, there is illustrated a finished girdle 22 having an elastomer base or body 23 and a composite inner fabric lining 24, which may be made up either as shown in the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 4 or the embodiment of FIGURES 5 to 7.

While I have illustrated representative embodiments of my invention, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to these specific forms but rather is as broad as the spirit of its teaching. For example, the base of latex or other suitable elastomer may be dipped, molded, cast, or formed any other way. Again, the word girdle is here intended in a broad sense for any garment needing the characteristics achieved by this invention. Various known expedients may, of course, also be used in conjunction with practice of the present invention. For example, the solid sheet rubber body of the girdle may be provided with perforations made at the time of formation of the girdle body or subsequent thereto.

I claim:

1. An elastomer girdle having an elastomer base upon which is laminated by adhesive means a fabric which has one hidden group of extensible threads of synthetic nonrubber fiber anchored to the elastomer base and a second exposed group of absorbent natural fiber threads distensibly secured to said hidden group of threads, the fabric being extensible with the stretch of the elastomer base.

2. An elastomer girdle of solid sheet rubber of a thickness adapted to constrict and control the body of the wearer, said girdle having a composite non-rubber fabric lining on its inner surface, the lining including threads of greater absorbency held in place in distensible formation by threads of greater stretchability, the latter being intermittently anchored to the inner surface of the girdle.

3. A girdle having an elastomer base and a composite fabric inner lining adhesively laminated onto the base, the composite fabric lining comprising an under layer predominately of Helanca type stretch thread anchored to the elastomer base and an exposed outer layer predominantly of absorbent natural fiber thread distensibly secured to the under layer predominantly of Helanca type thread whereby both high stretch and exposed surface absorbency are simultaneously achieved.

4. The girdle of claim 3 in which the composite fabric has Helanca thread and natural fiber thread running concurrently and these thread pairs are interlooped, with the Helanca thread predominantly in the under layer and the natural fiber thread predominantly in the outer layer.

5. A cloth lined rubber girdle, said girdle having a rubber body and a cloth lining, the lining being made of high-stretch low-absorbency threads and low-stretch high-absorbency threads, the high-stretch low-absorbency threads being repetitively bonded to the rubber body, and the low-stretch high-absorbency threads being distensibly secured to the high-stretch low-absorbency threads.

6. A cloth lined latex girdle having a rubber body and cloth lining, said lining comprising high-stretch low-absorbency threads bonded to the inside surface of the latex girdle, and low-stretch high-absorbency threads interlooped with the first mentioned threads but not directly bonded to the latex.

7. The girdle of claim 6 in which the high-stretch low absorbency threads are yarn-like bundles of heat-set synthetic filaments.

8. A girdle having a rubber body and a cloth lining, said lining being a textile fabric made of composite threads having a stretchable core of non-rubber synthetic filaments and a distensible covering of natural cotton thread closely helically wound on said core to effectively elongate by becoming loosely wound as the core stretches, the composite threads being bonded at closely spaced intervals to the rubber body of the girdle.

9. A rubber girdle having a rubber body and a cloth lining, said lining being a textile fabric made up of composite threads having a stretchable core of non-rubber synthetic filaments and a distensible covering of natural cotton thread closely and helically wound on said core to effectively elongate by becoming loosely wound as the core stretches, the composite threads being bonded at closely spaced intervals to the body of the girdle, the interval size generally exceeding the bond area size.

10. An elastomer girdle having an elastomer body and a composite fabric lining, said lining including stretch threads of lesser absorbency and greater stretchability, and absorbent threads of greater absorbency and lesser stretchability, the absorbent threads being so Wound around the stretch threads that in a relaxed state the absorbent threads have greater thread length than the relaxed thread length of the stretch threads, portions of the composite fabric lining being adhesively anchored at closely spaced intervals to the inner surface of the elastomer body with a substantial area of absorbent threads exposed at the surface for contact with the skin of the wearer; the intervals between the adhesively anchored portions of the lining being so selected that the absorbent threads elongate by becoming loosely Wound as the stretch threads stretch, whereby the composite fabric lining as a whole is stretchable with the stretch of the elastomer body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,077,514 4/ 1937 Callahan 16l--64 2,628,928 2/1953 Cadous 16177 2,702,998 3/1955 Purcell 66-178 2,744,846 5/1956 Stickles 156291 2,777,310 1/ 1957 Comer 66202 2,957,512 10/1960 Wade et a1. 156-163 2,979,928 4/1961 Seghezzi 66202 2,990,704 7/1961 Purcell 66-176 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS R. PRINCE, Examiner. 

10. AN ELASTOMER GIRDLE HAVING AN ELASTOMER BODY AND A COMPOSITE FABRIC LINING, SAID LINING INCLUDING STRETCH THREADS OF LESSER ABSORBENCY AND GREATER STRETCHABILITY, AND ABSORBENT THREADS OF GREATER ABSORBENCY AND LESSER STRETCHABILITY, THE ABSORBENT THREADS BEING SO WOUND AROUND THE STRETCH THREADS THAT IN A RELAXED STATE THE ABSORBENT THREADS HAVE GREATER THREAD LENGTH THAN THE RELAXED THREAD LENGTH OF THE STRETCH THREADS, PORTIONS OF THE COMPOSITE FABRIC LINING BEING ADHESIVELY ANCHORED AT CLOSELY SPACED INTERVALS TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE ELASTOMER BODY WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY AREA OF ABSORBENT THREADS EXPOSED AT THE SURFACE FOR CONTACT WITH THE SKIN OF THE WEARER; THE INTERVALS BETWEEN THE ADHESIVELY ANCHORED PORTIONS OF THE LINING BEING SO SELECTED THAT THE ABSORBENT THREADS ELONGATE BY BECOMING LOOSELY WOUND AS THE STRETCH THREADS STRETCH, WHEREBY THE COMPOSITE FABRIC LINING AS A WHOLE IS STRETCHABLE WITH THE STRETCH OF THE ELASTOMER BODY. 